tambourine

[ tam-buh-reen ]

/ ˌtæm bəˈrin /

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noun

a small drum consisting of a circular frame with a skin stretched over it and several pairs of metal jingles attached to the frame, played by striking with the knuckles, shaking, and the like.

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Origin of tambourine

1570–80; earlier tamboryne<Middle Dutch tamborijn small drum <Middle French tambourin or Medieval Latin tamborīnum.See tambour, -ine¹

OTHER WORDS FROM tambourine

tam·bou·rin·ist, noun

Words nearby tambourine

Tambo, Tambora, tambour, tamboura, tambourin, tambourine, Tambov, tambura, tamburitza, Tamburlaine, tame

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use tambourine in a sentence

Organizers of the rally cast the event in the tradition of the 1960s civil rights movement, complete with hippie peace signs and tambourines.
How the Anti-Vax Movement Is Taking Over the Right|Vera Bergengruen|January 26, 2022|Time
The sound of the alarm clock conquered the sound of the tambourine, the houses put on their winter faces.
Hello November, Our Old Friend|Susanna Schrobsdorff|November 1, 2021|Time
Hand percussion, such as shaker and tambourine, and acoustic guitar, also benefit from accurate transient reproduction.
The shape of things to come: Different types of microphones and when to use them|Mike Levine|August 26, 2021|Popular-Science

British Dictionary definitions for tambourine

tambourine

/ (ˌtæmbəˈriːn) /

noun

music a percussion instrument consisting of a single drumhead of skin stretched over a circular wooden frame hung with pairs of metal discs that jingle when it is struck or shaken

Derived forms of tambourine

tambourinist, noun

Word Origin for tambourine

C16: from Middle Flemish tamborijn a little drum, from Old French: tambourin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012